Ready Or Not
by lumifan99
Summary: An alternate look at season six. Starting with 6.10 Holidaze, Mark and Lexie's relationship is tested in a different way. Sloan Sloane does not exist.
1. Chapter 1

**Ready Or Not**

I don't why I started to write this. Or if I will even continue. But my muse came a knocking tonight, and I answered. Anyway, I just got this idea tonight and I just felt compelled to write it. This takes place during 6.10 Holidaze, but this time Sloane Sloan does not show up, instead Mark and Lexie's relationship is tested in a different way. This is just a teaser, to see if anyone even likes this…Just let me know if you think I should even continue this.

**Ready Or Not Part One**

Lexie Grey was still shivering from the crisp fall air as she reached the apartment she shared with Mark Sloan. It was Monday, and just three days before Thanksgiving. Meredith and Derek were hosting Thanksgiving and Lexie volunteered to make the pies. And when she woke up unusually early that morning she decided to walk to the grocery store down the block and buy the ingredients.

"Where have you been?" Mark asked her as she entered their apartment. "I woke up and you weren't there." He gave her a quick kiss, "I was getting worried."

A small smile tugged on Lexie's lips against his kiss. "I woke up early this morning and went to Pullman's and got the ingredients for the pies…I left you a note." She gestured towards the kitchen counter.

"Oh." He turned his head towards the counter now seeing Lexie's note. "I wish you would have got home sooner…I was hoping you could take a shower with me this morning." He smirked, "But now I have to get to the hospital."

"Well before you go…" Lexie set the brown grocery bag down on the kitchen table, "I bought you a blueberry scone from the bakery." She pulled out a small white bag.

"You are the best." Mark kissed her again before taking the bag from her.

She snaked her arms around his neck, "Are you just figuring that out?" She teased.

"Do you need help putting the groceries away before I go?" Mark asked, ignoring her question.

"No! No, it's one bag. I think I can handle it." She gave him a peck on the lips, "You get to work. I love you."

"Love you to Lex." Another kiss, "Hopefully I won't be home too late."

* * *

Lexie took a deep breath as she reached into the bottom of the grocery bag and pulled out the last item in the bag. She bit her lip as she stared down at the First Response Early Result Pregnancy test. She exhaled heavily as she carefully opened the box and skimmed over the instructions.

She opened the test on the way to the bathroom.

_5_

After peeing on the pregnancy test Lexie sat on the closed toilet seat waiting for the results. Five minutes. Just five minutes. She told herself.

She had been 12 days late when she finally broke down and bought the test. Mark had no idea. She closed her eyes. Mark. What was he going to say?

_4_

Yes. The two of them were doing great. She had never been in such a strong relationship. She had never been this in love. And she was sure the same for Mark. Well, she was almost sure it was the same for Mark.

But the two of them had never discussed having children.

_3_

What if he did not want any kids? How was he going to react?

She wasn't even sure if she was ready for kids.

_2_

Was he going to be mad?

No. He couldn't be mad. He'd have no right. She thought. After all, it takes two.

If he was mad he would be the biggest jerk she ever met. And she knew Mark Sloan was not that kind of jerk.

_1_

Her mind began to wonder farther. Was it going to be a girl? Or a boy? Would it have Mark's eyes and her hair? Would it have his smirk, but her smile?

She bit her lip, what if she didn't like any of the names he liked? Or he hated the baby names that she has always loved.

_0_

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of the timer she had set.

She took a deep breath.

A shaky hand reached out of the small plastic stick, still too afraid to look at it.

Another deep breath.

Slowly she tilted her head down, getting the courage to look at it.

A small gasp escaped her lips.

Two pink lines.

She was pregnant.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

First of all, I am so sorry it has taken me forever to post this. I hope everyone enjoys! Second of all, THANK YOU for all the wonderful reviews. Seriously, I was blown away!

**Ready Or Not Part Two**

Lexie knew she was being ridiculous, yet she was standing in front of the full length mirror that was in the bedroom she shared with Mark, with a pillow shoved under her shirt. She placed a hand on her newly inflated belly.

She stood nearly perfectly still as she studied her reflection. Was this what she would look like pregnant? It had been just a few hours since Lexie took the pregnancy test, and the three others that followed. And the fact she was pregnant still had not sunk it. It still did not feel real.

She had yet to wrap her head around that in about seven months she would have an actual baby. She had never truly pictured herself as a mother.

A knock at the door interrupted her from her thoughts; she heard the apartment door open. "Lexie?" Callie's voice called out, "You home?" She sighed, she liked Callie, but she hated the constant barging in.

"Yeah." Lexie quickly pulled the pillow from underneath her shirt. She left the room. "Hey. What's up?"

"I know Mark has to work tonight, so does Derek, Owen, and Arizona so Cristina and I are having Meredith come for supper for a girl's night. Would you like to come to?"

"Um…Sure. That would be great. Do you need to bring anything?"

"Nah we are just ordering pizza." Callie told her, "Just be over about six?"

Lexie nodded, "Okay."

"Is everything alright?" Callie asked, "You seem a little…" She paused, "Off."

Lexie forced a small smile. "I'm fine. I'm just really tired. I've have been working a lot of hours later and it just catching up with me."

"Okay, well get some sleep before you come over tonight."

Lexie nodded. "I will."

"Good. See you at six then."

After Callie left Lexie put her pajamas back on she slipped back under the covers. She pulled up her tank top so her stomach was exposed. Her hand grazed the bare skin. It was still flat. She closed her eyes mentally trying to decide how far along she was. Six weeks. Give or take. A smile crept across her lips. Time of conception would have been about the second week of October. Their one year anniversary. Figures. They had even more sex that day than normally did.

She and Mark both had off that day. They had the whole day planned out. In the morning they were going to the zoo, which was one of Lexie's favorite things to do. Then in the afternoon they were going to the Mariners/Yankees baseball game, decked out in their Yankee gear, and then they had late dinner reservations at Camparo's. Of course none of these things ever happened. They ended up spending the entire day in bed and ordered Chinese and ate it naked in bed.

She nearly laughed out loud. It was amazing, with the sex they had, she hadn't gotten pregnant any earlier. Her hand left her stomach as she pulled down her tank top. She exhaled heavily. Pregnant. Closing her eyes the thought it still didn't seem real. She didn't know if she was ready for this.

* * *

After a three and a half hour nap the rest of Lexie's day passed by quickly. She had couldn't believe she slept for over three hours. She had been exhausted. It was just before six when Lexie went across the hall. She had nearly canceled. But when all she could think about was the word Pregnant she decided she needed the distraction. She knocked before walking into Cristina and Callie's apartment. "Hey."

"Hey Lex." Meredith greeted. "We're making margaritas. Do you want one?" She asked as she poured tequila into a measuring cup. She frowned when she saw how little was in there and poured more. She poured it into the blender and started to add ice.

"No thanks." Lexie sat down on the couch.

"Why the hell not?" Cristina asked as she placed three margarita glasses on the counter.

Before Lexie could answer Meredith started the blender. "Because tequila makes me tired." Lexie explained, "And I want to be awake when Mark gets home. We haven't…" She blushed, "Had sex for a while, so I need to be awake."

Cristina and Callie exchanged looks. "It cannot have been that long. How long is exactly is a while for you and Mark?" Callie asked.

Her blush deepened, "Like, three days."

Meredith scuffed, "I kind of hate you right now."

Lexie frowned, "Why? What did I do?"

"Seriously, you think three days is a while?" Meredith asked, "Derek and I have gone weeks without having sex."

"Weeks?" Lexie repeated. "The only time Mark and I went without sex for weeks is when…" She paused, "Mark had his injury and we couldn't."

"Mark had an injury?" Meredith asked, her brows furred in confusion, "What was wrong?"

Callie burst into fits of laughter, but stopped when Lexie glared at her, "Nothing. It was nothing. Just a minor injury that prevented us from having sex for six weeks…" She felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment.

"Lexie broke Mark's penis." Callie blurted out before she started to laugh.

"You broke Mark's penis?" Meredith and Cristina asked in unison. "H…How? Seriously? How?" Cristina asked.

"I was just…We were trying this new position…And I was supposed to do this clench and twist thing…And I…Just clenched a little too hard and twisted a little too far. I heard a crack, and he screamed…Oh God, it was terrible…"

"Good Lord it is always the quiet ones…" Cristina shook her head, "Actually not so quiet. We can hear you and Sloan have sex all the time." She laughed, "Little Grey likes it hard."

Lexie buried her head in her hands, "You can hear us? Oh my God. This is so humiliating."

Callie rolled her eyes, "Are you really surprised we can hear you? It's not like you two even try to be quiet. Besides the walls here are thin."

"But Mark and I never hear you have sex." Lexie told them. "How can you hear us but we can't hear you."

Meredith laughed, "It sounds like you and Mark are just having hotter sex then they are." She shook her head, "It's always the quiet ones…Well I suppose not so quiet in this case." Cristiana and Callie started to laugh.

"I'm going home." Lexie groaned.

"Oh come on Lexie." Meredith grabbed her sister's arm as she tried to stand up from the couch and pulled her back down, "Don't leave. We are all just jealous you are getting more and apparently hotter sex then we all are." She paused, "And out of curiosity, how many time a week do you normally have sex?"

"Um…Like nine."

"Okay, I really do hate you now."

* * *

"How did you get Meredith to marry you?" Mark asked Derek as they sat in Derek's office, eating their lunch.

Derek set down his grilled cheese sandwich in looked at Mark, eyes widened in surprise, "Are you proposing?"

"I've been looking at rings for about a month now." Mark admitted. "I think I found one."

"Wow. Just…Wow. Congratulations." Derek grinned. "This is amazing. No offence, but two years ago I never saw this happening."

"You and I both. Until Lexie I never thought I would ever propose to someone, or spend my life with one person. But Lexie…She's the one." He paused. "But I was lucky to get her to move in with me. I'm just worried I propose she'll say no."

"She won't say no." Derek told him, "I get the Grey with commitment issues."

"It's not that Lexie has commitment issues. She doesn't. It's just that she has goals. A whole ten year plan…"

Derek shrugged, "The thing is plans change. Maybe you need to give her a reason to change her plans. Besides, marriage does not have to change those plans."

Mark nodded, "You're right. Plans change…I think I'm going to order the ring." He took a bite out of his ham and turkey sandwich, "You want to come with to see the ring? I should probably get a second opinion before I order it."

"Sure. Just let me know when."

* * *

It was after eleven when Mark got home. He was supposed to be home hours ago, but there had been a house fire, a family of four had been severely burned. He nearly shuttered, burn victims were the most difficult to see. They were always in so much pain. He walked into their bedroom and found Lexie already sleeping.

As quietly as he could he took off his scrubs and through them in the hamper. Leaving on just his boxers he got into bed next to Lexie. "Mark?" Lexie asked, still half asleep, she curled her body against his.

"Yeah babe?"

"I missed you today." She whispered, her eyes still closed.

"I missed you too." He kissed her, "Go back to sleep. I love you."

She yawned, "Love you to."


	3. Chapter 3

**Ready or Not Part Three**

It had been a crazy week. And now it was Thursday. Lexie had known she was pregnant for four days now and still had not told Mark. She just could not find the right time. They both had been so busy with work.

"You okay babe?" Mark asked, glancing at her before turning his attention back to the road. "You seem distracted today." They were on the way to Meredith and Derek's for Thanksgiving lunch.

"I'm fine." Lexie told him. "It's just been a long week." It was true. It had been a long week. And earlier that morning, she had thrown up. Twice. She figured it was the start of morning sickness.

"I cannot wait to eat those pies you made. They look _so_ good." Mark smiled.

Lexie smiled to, "My mom taught me how to make them." She brushed some hair behind her ear, "She taught me how to cook and bake a lot of things."

"I wish I would have been able to mean your mom. She seems like she was an amazing woman." He told her sincerally. "I know the holidays must be rough for you because you think of her more…"

"Do you ever think of your mom?" Lexie asked. Mark had lost his mother four years earlier, and rarely talked about her or his dad for that mater.

Mark nodded,"I do. Once in a while. But I think I think about her differntly then you think of yours." He tried to explain. "My mom was different then yours…Growing up she and my dad cared more about going to parties then raising me. It was…hard when she died. I was sad because she was so young. I was sad because she was never there for me. I was sad because we would never be able to have a relationship. But that was it really, I never had a real relationship with her."

"I'm sorry your parents weren't the parents you deserved." Lexie whispered.

Mark shrugged, "It's in the past. Let's not dwell on it." He pulled into Meredith's driveway. "Mrs. Shepherd should be here by now."

"Meredith said she got in late last night." Lexie smiled, "It will be nice to properly meet her. The woman who taught Mark Sloan how to slow dance."

"Hey. That does not leave this car."

She laughed, "Doesn't Derek know?"

"Yes. But the beauty of being friends with someone as long as Derek and I have been is that I know his secrets to. We both know some pretty embarrassing stuff about each other. We cannot tell anyone about it, because the other will retaliate."

"Good point." As Lexie grabbed two the pies she made she frowned, "Do you think I made enough pies?"

"Lex, there is eight of us. I really hope we don't eat four pies." He grabbed the other two pies from the back seat.

"Yeah, but Alex is going to be there…And he eats enough for two people."

"Still that would be nine people that means we get about a half of a pie each. I think we'll be fine." Mark opened the front door, letting Lexie in first before shutting the door behind him.

"Mark! Lexie!" Carolyn Shepherd greeted the couple. "Happy Thanksgiving you two!" She hugged Mark, "It's good to see you."

"It's always good to see you, Mrs. Shepherd." Mark smiled as he returned the older woman's hug.

"And Lexie." Carolyn pulled her into a hug, "It is so good to properly meet you. Finally."

Lexie felt her cheeks blush, "I feel the same way."

"Come on in to the kitchen. Lunch is almost ready." Carolyn led them to the kitchen, "By the way Lexie, you pies look delicious."

Lexie's blush deepened, "Thank you Mrs. Shepherd."

"Please, you two need to stop calling me Mrs. Shepherd." Carolyn frowned, "Mrs. Shepherd makes me feel so old. Call me Carolyn."

"Wow. It smells so good in here." Lexie commented as she put the two pies she was carrying on the kitchen counter.

"Then we know Meredith isn't cooking." Mark joked. 

"Mark." Lexie half scolded, "That's not nice." She smiled at Meredith, and the rest of the group, who was sitting at the kitchen table, "Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving Lexie." Meredith smiled. "I actually did cook something. Carolyn taught me how to make green bean casserole."

"You do realize that the green bean casserole is like the easiest thing to make?" Alex asked.

Meredith rolled her eyes, "Says the man who opened the can of cranberries and put them on a fancy plate."

"I think we all agree none of us can really cook." Cristina said, taking a sip of her wine. "Thank God Derek got his Mom to come and cook for us. We would have all starved."

"Thanks for coming Mom." Derek told his mother, "Meredith and I really wanted you here."

Carolyn smiled, "Thank you for buying my plane ticket. I wanted to be here today, to be with you two on your first holiday as a married couple." She turned to Mark and Lexie, "And to meet the woman who has made Mark so happy."

Lexie smiled, "He makes me happy to."

* * *

After lunch Lexie excused herself to the bathroom, her stomach—or t he baby did not agree with something she ate. She sighed as she splashed water on her face and used some mouth wash Meredith had in the bathroom cupboard. It was only her first day of throwing up, and she hated it already. Leaving the bathroom, she nearly bumped into Carolyn. "Sorry." She quickly apologized.

"It's not your fault…Lexie, dear, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine." Lexie promised the older woman.

"I thought I heard you throwing up."

Without denying it, Lexie looked down. "I'm fine." She repeated.

"Can I ask you a question?" Lexie nodded, "Please don't get offended when I ask this, but are you pregnant?"

Lexie bit her lip, looking up at Carolyn, "Please don't tell anyone. Mark doesn't even know. I just found out on Monday, and I haven't found the right time to tell him."

Carolyn smiled, "Don't worry, my lips are sealed dear." She quickly hugged Lexie, "Congratulations. Are you excited?"

Lexie nodded, smiling. "I didn't know I was until you asked. But, yes. I am so excited." She laughed nervously, "I just don't know if Mark will be. We have never talked about kids."

"It doesn't matter if you talked about them dear, because ready or not you are having them." She rubbed Lexie's arm, "Mark is a good man, and he will stick by you."

"Thank you Carolyn. I hope you are right."

* * *

Lexie and Mark were home, later that night, both tired they decided to go to bed early. They were brushing their teeth in front of the bathroom sink in relative silence. "Are you sure you're okay?" Mark asked, as he brushed his teeth.

"I am…" Lexie spit some of her tooth paste into the sink, "I'm just pregnant." Unable to look at him, she continued to brush her teeth.

But Mark had. "You're what?"

"Pregnant." Lexie repeated. "I just found out Monday. And I have not found the right time to tell you and I didn't know how you were going to react…" She laughed, "But I'm happy about this. Now _please_ say something so I will stop talking."

"You're pregnant?" Was all he could ask, "When…Do you know how far along?"

"Six weeks? Maybe. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, to find out exactly how far."

Mark spit out the rest of his toothpaste, "We're having a baby." He smiled, "I cannot believe it." He put his hand on her stomach, "Can you feel it yet?"

She laughed, "Mark, you are a doctor; you know it way too early." She smiled, "But you are happy about this?"

Mark nodded, "Very." He kissed her, "Can I come with you to your doctor's appointment tomorrow?" The truth was he really was excited. He had wanted to be a father since he found out Addison had aborted his baby. He was relieved that the mother of his kids was going to be Lexie.

"You better." She hugged him. "I'm so happy you are happy about this. I was terrified you wouldn't be."

"How have you been feeling?" They were in bed now; Lexie had her head rested on his chest.

"Okay…I think I started having morning sickness today, so that wasn't very fun."

"When do you want to tell everyone?"

"After the first trimester is over. Too many things can go wrong during the first trimester."

"Nothing will go wrong…" Mark told her.

She nodded, "I hope so."

* * *

"I'm Dr. Lucy Fields, but please call me Lucy." Lucy told the couple as she walked into room 214, where Lexie and Mark sat. "So Lexie, you took a home pregnancy test and it came up positive?"

Lexie smiled sheepishly, "I took four actually. All came up positive. I did the math; I should be about six weeks?"

Lucy nodded, "Well we are going to do a transvaginal ultrasound today. This will help to determine exactly how far along you are and we will listen to the heartbeat." She took a seat next to Lexie. "Are you ready?"

Lexie smiled, looking at Mark. "Yes."

"Okay, can you put your feet in the stirrups?" Lexie nodded, placing her feet in the stirrups. "Okay, I'm going to put tranducer in, I'll warn you, it is going to be a little cold, and a little uncomfortable." Lexie took a hold of Mark's hand as Lucy slid the tranducer into Lexie's vaginal cavity. Almost immediately Lexie and Mark heard the erratic thumping of the heartbeat. "Oh." Lucy looked surprised.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Mark asked.

"Nothing is wrong." Lucy smiled, "It's just I am hearing two heartbeats. Congratulations, twins."


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this is pretty short, but after this I think the story is really going to start picking up. I really hope you all enjoy. **  
**

**Ready or Not Part Four**

_November 26_

"Twins?" Lexie echoed Lucy's words, "We're having twins? Are…Are…Are you sure?" She stuttered.

"Yes. There are defiantly two heartbeats. Listen closely." Lucy instructed. "Do you hear the thumps overlapping each other?"

"Wow." Mark's eyes were glued to the heart monitor. "Twins." He clutched Lexie's hand and smiled, "Do you have any idea when they are due?" He asked Lucy.

Lucy turned on the ultrasound screen, "Let's take a quick look and we will see." She studied the screen for a moment, "Looking at the size, and from what Lexie has told me I am going to say they are six weeks along. For now we will put your due date I will say your due date is July 19." She began writing a few notes on Lexie's chart, "You should start prenatal vitamins right away, and you should schedule your next appointment for about six weeks from now."

"Okay." Lexie squeaked in reply. Her brain still processing the word twins. "Can we get a copy of the ultra sound picture?"

Lucy smiled, "Of course. I will print off a copy and I will have Mary get you a month supply of prenatal vitamins and she can schedule you next appointment. Do either of you have any questions for me?"

Lexie shook her head, "Um, no. I don't think so." She looked up over at Mark, "Do you?"

"Nope. Not at the moment." Mark told her, grinning.

"Well, if either of you think of any do not hesitate to ask." Lucy told them. "I will print the ultrasound picture, if you two would like a few minutes alone?"

"That would be great, thank you." Lexie told her quickly, squeezing Mark's hand.

"You okay?" Mar asked, after Lucy left the room.

"Um, yeah. I just…Twins." Lexie half laughed. "It's huge. I have not really gotten used to the idea having one baby, and now we are having two. I just have to finish processing it." She looked her eyes with his. "Are you okay?"

"I'm excited." Mark admitted, "The idea of twins is scary, but they will be ours." His thumb caressed her hand. "If it were anyone else other then you I would be terrified. But I know we can do this."

"I hope you still think that when the 2 a.m. cravings and the 3 a.m. feedings start." She smiled, giving him a quick kiss. "I'm glad I'm doing this with you." She looked down at her watch, "My shift starts in a half an hour, we should get my vitamins and make my next appointment." She stood up. "What are you doing with your day off?"

Mark shrugged, "Not much. Maybe hire a realtor? Or start looking at houses online."

"Houses?" Lexie stopped in her tracks, "You are going to looks at houses?"

"There is going to be four of us Lex. The apartment is not big enough for us and two babies." Mark told her, "If we start looking now we should be settled in before you have the twins."

Lexie only nodded, "Okay that makes sense." She sighed, "I'm glad one of use is thinking clearly." She smirked playfully, "Never thought it would be you."

"I can't wait to start telling people." Mark told her, ignoring her statement.

"I can. And we should wait. I want to wait until at least I get through my first trimester. Too many things can happen during the first three months of pregnancy…I don't want to jinx it."

Mark nodded, "Okay. We will wait. It's going to suck waiting six weeks."

"If you need to talk to someone other than me about it, you can call Mrs. Shepherd, since she already knows. I'm sure she is going to be thrilled when she finds out it is twins."

"Okay, that sounds reasonable."

* * *

_Two weeks later… December 13 _ "Are we almost out of ornaments?" Lexie asked as she hung another ornament. She frowned slightly, "I think we are running out of room."

"About another half dozen." Mark told her, handing her one. "I had no idea that we this many ornaments."

"Well my parents have gotten me one every year for Christmas, so that is 25 for me. And Mrs. Shepherd has given you an ornament for that last out, 30 years? It adds up." She paused, "Are tree is so cute." She smiled, "Just think next year we can get a really big tree, since we will actually have a place to put it." She said as she hung another ornament.

"And we will have two little ones." Mark told her, "We should give our kids an ornament every Christmas. Start a tradition."

Lexie smiled, "That sounds nice." She adjusted an ornament with her right hand as she held out her left, "We have anymore ornaments?" Her attention was at the tree.

"Just one." Mark told her, placing something on the palm of her hand.

The object in her hand didn't feel like an ornament. "What kind of—"She looked down at her hand to see a ring. A diamond ring. "Mark?" She looked over at him to see that he was on one knee. "Oh my God."

"Lexie." Mark took her hand, "I have been going over how I wanted to this in my head, trying to figure out what to say…We both now I'm not a very romantic guy, so I'm just going to say it. I love you. I have never loved anyone the way I love you. You put back together when I didn't even know I was broken and I will spend the rest of my life thanking for that. Will you marry me?"

"I just…" Lexie had tears in her eyes, "First I need to know…I need to make sure you aren't doing this just because I'm pregnant. I don't want you ever to resent me if you really don't want to do this."

"Lexie I ordered this ring the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Before I knew about the babies."

She broke out into a smile, "In that case. Yes. Yes I will marry you."

Mark slipped the ring on her ring finger, "Thank God, it fits." He stood up and Lexie wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

"Oh my God Mark." Lexie looked down at her hand. "This ring is so beautiful. I love it." She kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you too."

TBC...


End file.
